


friend & fighting

by fagstar



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Arguments, Bad Parenting, Crying, Fighting, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Men Crying, Past Child Abuse, Surprisingly Canon Compliant, Vulnerability, anyways ghostbur get his ass, as in i pulled the first part of their convo directly from a clip of wilburs stream on the 6th, hes a bad parent, idk i just wanted ghostbur to pop off, im pissed at dsmp phil, no beta we die like l'manburg, o7 - Freeform, rest in peace friend the sheep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28653711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fagstar/pseuds/fagstar
Summary: He’s angry. Ghostbur’s not sure if he’s ever been truly angry before, but he sure is now. For his sake, because Phil treats him like a child incapable of understanding the world. For Tommy’s sake, because Phil throws him to the side in favour of the man who told him, a 16 year old boy, to die a hero’s death. For Ranboo, who is now homeless. For Tubbo, who tried his best despite making a few bad choices. For all the pets that were collateral damage. Phil never truly cared about anything other than making himself feel better about murdering his own son.___or, ghostbur goes off.
Relationships: Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson
Comments: 29
Kudos: 427





	friend & fighting

**Author's Note:**

> this is a continuation of my fic revelations, but it can also be read as a stand-alone!

Ghostbur smiles as he floats into L’Manburg. He is sheltered from the rain by a helmet that is somehow sitting on his head. The scenery is nice and he floats down the prime path to go to Phil’s house. Friend is there, and Ghostbur wants to see him.

His cheerful mood fades, and is swiftly replaced with something akin to dread as he stands at the staircase, overlooking L’Manburg. Or, rather, what’s left of it.

Where L’Manburg once stood, strong and welcoming, is now a pit. Charred debris are scattered on the ground, items and rubble are strewn across the surrounding area, but that’s not what Ghostbur is focused on. Phil’s house is gone.

Nearly unaware of his actions, Ghostbur half-stumbles down the hole-ridden staircase, too focused on getting to L’Manburg to float.

As he looks around frantically, a sense of wrongness fills his chest and threatens to overflow. What happened? Where did everything go? 

There’s a black grid of imposing obsidian high in the sky, and the pit below extends down to bedrock. He stares into it for a moment, before tearing his eyes away. It makes him sad to look. And if he feels sad, he won’t remember.

He looks around again, surveying the damage. All the houses are gone, reduced to a pile of nothing but charred wood and burned memories. His sewer has been destroyed, the water in it spilling out like some kind of waterfall. He can see from here that his library didn’t survive. The crane is half-gone, too.

Tommy and Tubbo are walking by him. He reaches out to them, and they stop.

“Tommy, who did this?” he asks.

“Technoblade and Dream,” Tubbo says. “And Phil.”

Ghostbur blanches. “But… Phil is my friend. Why would he blow up L’Manburg?”

“I don’t know, Ghostbur,” Tommy replies.

“I’m going to ask him, I have to talk to Phil,” Ghostbur says, and moves away, looking for Phil.

He spots him a few minutes later, up on the obsidian grid. It looks like he’s trying to build down, or something, so Ghostbur floats up to him. Confusion isn’t a feeling Ghostbur likes, and this feeling is a kind of sad-confusion. But a part of him tells him he won’t forget this day.

They’re eye-level now. “Phil, Tommy says you blew up L”Manburg. Is this true?” he asks.

Phil hesitates for a moment before answering. “Yes, it is,” he finally says.

Ghostbur draws up his eyebrows. “Why?”

“To send them a message,” Phil replies.

Ghostbur is silent for a moment. “You knew Friend was in your house,” Ghostbur says finally, upset.

“He’s got infinite canon lives,” Phil says nonchalantly.

“You knew Friend was in your house!” Ghostbur yells, tears welling up in his eyes.

“He’s got infinite canon lives,” Phil says again, as if Ghostbur is a child who doesn’t understand respawning. But Ghostbur is an adult, and he knows what death is intimately. He knows Friend will respawn somewhere, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.

“No! Stop, stop! You knew Friend was in your house!” Ghostbur, voice choked with tears, pauses for a moment. “You knew everything everyone owned was in this town!” He buries his face in his hands. Phil is silent as tears spill from his eyes and he lets out a sob.

After a long minute, Phil replies. 

“...I did,” is all he says.

“I don’t- I don’t, I don’t want to listen, I don’t want to hear what you have to say. I don’t want to hear what you have to say.” He takes a deep, shuddering breath. “I’ve read the history books, Phil. You slayed Alivebur, you’re the St. George of this SMP, but look what you’ve done! How can you look at this and still see yourself as a hero?”

Phil says nothing. An uncomfortable silence stretches between them as they both stare at the remains of Ghostbur’s home. Nothing can be heard but the quiet pattering of the rain and Ghostbur’s quiet sobs.

Finally, Ghostbur speaks again, his voice shaky and weak with tears. “Sending a message, Phil, sending a message?”

“Yeah,” says Phil. “Not to… not to start another government. Not to take… genuinely nice, wholehearted people and turn them against each other with power and corruption. That’s why, Will. I don’t want to see it happen again.”

“So you make me suffer?” Ghostbur asks quietly. “I don’t know what Alivebur did, and I’m really trying to remember, but I know what I did, and I just wrote books.” His voice cracks. “I built… remember the lanterns we used to make? I built them, and I built a house for people, and I- I built this town just like I built Logstedshire, and I watched them both blow up.”

Phil looks distinctly uncomfortable.

“I didn’t, I didn’t hurt anybody, and yet I’m the one who pays,” Ghostbur continues. “Tommy didn’t even live here, Tommy doesn’t even have a house here. I’m the one who sows the seeds of peace, and yet I’m the one who pays for war.”

He looks away sadly. “I- I know I’m forgetful, I know I’m an amnesiac, and I know I’m the comic relief in all your stories but I still feel this, I still feel things. And I try my best to make sure no one else feels it. And I just…”

“I’m sorry, Wilbur,” Phil says, not sounding only slightly regretful, “maybe you’ll understand one day.”

Ghostbur looks up sharply. “One day, Phil? One day? I think I understand now. You never cared about me, never cared about Tommy or Tubbo or any of the other people you’ve made homeless. All you care about is pretending to be the hero while you run around with Technoblade causing destruction.”

He’s angry. Ghostbur’s not sure if he’s ever been truly angry before, but he sure is now. For his sake, because Phil treats him like a child incapable of understanding the world. For Tommy’s sake, because Phil throws him to the side in favour of the man who told him, a 16 year old boy, to die a hero’s death. For Ranboo, who is now homeless. For Tubbo, who tried his best despite making a few bad choices. For all the pets that were collateral damage. Phil never truly cared about anything other than making himself feel better about murdering his own son.

“Don’t bring Tommy into this,” Phil warns, voice low. “The government made me kill my own son. Power, it… corrupts people, poisons them, ruins them. I don’t expect you to understand that.”

Bitterly, Ghostbur laughs. “The government made you kill Alivebur? That’s funny, because I distinctly remember him asking you to kill him, and you gladly obliging. And… power corrupts? That’s rich, coming from the man siding with the two most powerful people on the server. All Technoblade cares about is violent anarchy, and Dream just wants to play with Tommy, as if he’s some kind of toy. If power corrupts, Phil, I’d say you’re its latest victim.”

Phil steps back, fists clenched, chest puffed indignantly.

“Technoblade has been betrayed, time and time again, by the very people who made up this government! They used him! They executed him!” He looks away. “I know now that siding with Dream was a mistake, but I will stand by Technoblade until my dying breath.”

“All Technoblade does is bitch and moan about nobody respecting his ideals while not respecting anyone else’s ideals! If he wants people to listen to him, maybe he should try something different than, oh, I don’t know,  _ bombing countries and making children homeless _ !”

“Techno was in retirement, and L’Manburg hunted him down and dropped an anvil on his head. He would have died, had he not a totem in his inventory,” Phil defends.

“He set withers, demons from hell, on L’Manburg! He told Tommy to  _ die a hero’s death _ , Phil!” Ghostbur cries, throwing his hands up. “Going into retirement doesn’t make him innocent! He should still face consequences for his actions! Sure, maybe forming a butcher army was too far, but he assisted in blowing up L’Manburg and threatened to do it again, multiple times. He was a threat to L’Manburg, and they were justified by arresting him.”

Phil shakes his head. “Tommy betrayed Techno. L’Manburg used him, and then betrayed him.”

“He gave them gear with his own free will. He fought with them, and then turned on them when he didn’t like what Alivebur was doing. And Tommy? Who was only with Technoblade because he had no other option, because it was either that or be continue to be abused by Dream?” Phil flinches. “He switched because he didn’t like the person he was becoming. Technoblade didn’t respect Tommy’s ideals, but Tommy tried to respect his. Tommy would choose Tubbo over anyone else any day, and I’m shocked that you don’t understand that.”

Phil holds his head high. “Ghostbur, you don’t understand Technoblade, and you never will.”

“No, Phil. Stop. Tommy didn’t do anything wrong! He didn’t betray Technoblade, because their allyship was supposed to be temporary from the get-go. Techno’s just bitter because he can’t say that he has a former vice president who, after being wronged by the government, turns to anarchy, on his side.” Ghostbur squeezes his eyes shut and inhales deeply.

“No, he-”

“Enough, Phil!” Ghostbur yells. “Stop. Enough about Technoblade. Let’s talk about you.” Ghostbur levels his gaze with Phil’s and watches him swallow uncomfortably.

“You consistently disregard your own children for Technoblade! When was the last time you had a real conversation with Tommy? With Alivebur, before he died? Oh, that’s right! You never have!” Ghostbur says angrily. 

Phil opens his mouth to retort, but Ghostbur continues.

“I don’t remember much about Alivebur, but I know you never loved him.” Phil flinches again, violently. “You never cared about what he liked, never made time for him because all your time was taken up by Technoblade,” he spits. “And Tommy! He’s 16, a war-traumatized child soldier, and all you care about is teaching him a lesson? What the hell is wrong with you? I’m glad you know that siding with Dream was bad, but Technoblade is only marginally better.”

Fixing his gaze on the ground, Phil shuffles. “I’m sorry, Ghostbur. But Techno needed me.”

Ghostbur scoffs. “You’re both grown adults, Phil. I think he could have fared well enough without you so you could actually raise your own children.”

“You’ll understand someday, Ghostbur,” Phil says again. “We can talk about this again then.”

The anger finally boils over. 

“No, we won’t, Phil,” Ghostbur growls.

Phil sighs. “Son-”

“I’m not your son,” Ghostbur says coldly. Phil freezes. “You killed Friend. You have no regard for the lives of others, you’ll do anything to push your agenda. You treat me like an incapable child, and you treat Tommy worse. You are not my father, Phil, and I am not your son.” He pauses. “And neither was Alivebur.”

Ghostbur takes a step back in the air, and leaves. It feels good, so good, to get everything off his chest. He feels victorious as he leaves Phil standing there, alone.

When he reaches the ground, he takes off in search of Tommy. 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! i liked writing this because using characters as a medium to rant is very fun and i wanted ghostbur to go off on phil but it didnt happen so i decided to make it happen. when wilbur gets resurrected i want him to pop off. get his ass wilbur!!!! anyways please leave a comment!! <3


End file.
